Screw driver



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P. VVEISSBECK ET Ai..

SCREW DRIVER Filed May 5. 1923 WITH/8858 Patented mlilly l, 191m.

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.tttlrlm lill@ scRnw DRIVER.

Application filed. May 5,

To all whom t may concern lBe it known that we, PETE lVnIssBECK and LER TmALs, citizens of the United States, and residents of Kansas City, in the County of Jackson and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful llmprovements in' Screw Drivers, of which the following is a specification.

rllhis invention relates toan improvement` in screw drivers, and has for its object to provide a screw driver having organized therewith means for gripping and holding the screw to the tip or end of the screw driver, the means for ,holding the screw be ing under the complete control of the person using the screw driver so as to be operable or not as desired.

Another object of the invention is to provide a screw driver having the foregoing advantages and which is at the same time vof simple and durable construction, reliable in operation, well balanced and comparatively inexpensive to manufacture and has at the same time all of the advantages and .capacities of a screw driver of ordinary construction.

lOther objects and advantages of the invention reside in certain novel features of the construction, combination and arrangement of parts which will be hereinafter more full described and particularly pointed out in t e appended claim, reference being had A tothe accompanying drawings forming part of this specification, and in which: y

lFigurel is a perspective view, showing the preferred embodiment of the invention;

Flgnre 2 is a view partly in plan and partly in horizontal section and showing the preferred embodiment of the invention;

Fi re 3 is a grou View. in perspective showing certain of 'the parts prior to assembly;

Figure 4 is a view in transverse section oil the tip of the screw driver, showing the head. of the screwin plan and illustrating the gripping means in inoperative or ina-otive position; l 1 A Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure I and showlng the gripping means operative to hold the operative to the tip or end of the screw driver.

llB-eterrmg to the drawmgs, the numeral I` 1 0 designates the handle Aot" the screw driver which may be constructed of wood or metal ot any suitable material and to which the blade, designated-at 11 is connected in any 1923. Serial No. 636,877.

approved way. For the sake of illustration one form of connection between the blade 11 and the handle 10 is shown in Figure 2, and in this arrangement the handle is socketed, as at 12, and one'end of the blade lis'fitted in the socket and secured therein by means of a cross pin 13, the portion of the handle which is socketed being equipped with a ferrule 14. The outer end or tip of the screw driver is designated at 15 and as usual though laterally enlarged is thin or of relatively slight cross section and of wedge shape or formation, being adapted to engage in the slot usually provided in the head ofthe screw. The niain portion or shank of the blade 1l is provided with an axial bore or opening 16 which extends from a point adjacent the handle- 10 to the tip 15 where it communicates with an alined slot 16a formed in the tip and extending .axially therethrough so as to be continuous' with the bore 16.

A gripping rod 18 is fitted for oscillatory movement in the bore or opening 16 of the blade 11 and the outer end of the gripper bar is formed with aflattened and-tapered portion 18EL which is disposed in the slot 16 of the tip. 'llhe portion 16 of the gripper bar is of the same thickness asthe tip 15 and corresponds thereto in its shape so that in one position of the gripper bar 16 it fills the slot 16a and completes the tip of the blade. This portion 18a is however of such width and thickness that when it is tilted as shown in Figure 5 its corners will bite into the walls of the slot of the screw as will be hereinafter more fully described. rlhe end of the gripper bar 18 opposite the portion 18a is provided with a transversely extending threaded socket 19 in which a screw 90 is adapted to be threaded, the screw serving as a crank arm adapted to connect or secure oneend of a coil spring 2 0 to the keeper bar'18. rlFhe coil spring 20 encircles the blade 10 and is connected at its opposite end to an operating pin or screw21. lt is to be noted at this point that the blade is slotted arcuatelyand transversely to accommodate the pin 20a. The operating pin or screw 21 is slidably fitted in an l.shaped slot- 22 provided in a casing 23 bolted or "otherwise suitably secured to the handle and serving not only to support the pin 2 1 but to also enclose the sprlng 20 and the -inner end of the gripping bar 18.

lln operation when the tip 15 of the screw driver isvinserted in the slot of the head of the screw the bar 18 is disposed in the plane of the blade and is continuous therewith as shown in Figure 2 so that the tip of the .screw driver readily enters the head of the screw. If it is desired to hold the screw on the tip 15 the pin 21 is grasped and is moved circumferentially through the portion 22a of the slot 22'and then longitudinally into the portion 22b thereof. This movementV of the pin contracts and tensions the spring 20 so that the spring being con- -nected to the lateral screw 20 of the bar 18 turns the bar to the position shown in Figure 5 in which position the corners bite into the walls of the slot of the screw. When the screw has been advanced into the material into which it is being driven suificientlyto have a firm mounting therein the pin 21 may be moved back into thecircumferentially extending portion 22a of the'slot 22 to move the flattened 'and tapered end 18a of the bar 18 back into the plane of the blade, as shown in Figure 4 so that subsequently during the driving ofthe screw the screw driver operates after the manner of the ordinary or conventional screw driver. With this arrangement the driving of screws in inaccessible and crowded places is greatly facilitated as the screwl is held to the tip of the driver and may be readily driven. At the same time the screw driver possesses all 'of the advantages and utilities of the ordinary tool and is adapted to be manufactured from materials and with facilities ordinarily available.

It is to be understood that the longitudinally extending portion 22h of the L-shaped slot 22 may be extended in either direction as found convenient; thus it may be extended rearwardly of the casing instead of forwardly as now shown.

We claim:

p In a screw driver, a handle, a blade connected to the handle and having a bore extending longitudinally and communicating with a slot extending through the outer end thereof, a gripping bar mounted in the bore and having a portion disposed in the slot and adapted to be disposed in the plane of the blade or to be rotated so as to have corners thereof project beyond the sides of the blade, the inner end of the bar being provided with a laterally extending screw connected thereto, a coil spring embracing the blade and having one end secured to the laterally extending screw, a casing carried by the handle and enclosing the coil spring and the casing having an L-shaped slot provided therein and an operating pin mounted in the L'-shaped slot of the casing and connected to the end of the coil spring opposite to that connected to the screw whereby movement of the pin controls the position of the gripper bar.

PETE WEISSBECK. LEE TIBBALS. 

